


Happy Birthday, Lance!

by Levis_turtles



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Lance's Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 02:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11636958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levis_turtles/pseuds/Levis_turtles
Summary: So, I didn’t actually know that there was a Lance Week for his birthday so instead, there’s this.





	Happy Birthday, Lance!

Waking up on the castle was usually a simple ordeal. The sirens would scream through the ship, scaring Lance out of whatever dream (or nightmare) he’d been having, and he would roll out of bed into riveting action.

 

On the day of Lance’s birthday, however, waking was a simple ordeal for an entirely different reason. He woke up naturally.

 

 _Well_ , Lance thought, as he rolled over in his bed, _that’s_ _odd_.

 

Usually, even on a good day, Lance could only snag somewhere between four and six hours of sleep a night. This usually left him exhausted, and Lance could count on one hand the number of times he’d managed to wake up unprompted since they’d left earth.

 

What was even more odd, however, was how warm Lance’s bed was.

 

Usually he woke up freezing, the tip of his nose like a shard of ice at the centre of his face. Today, however, he was comfortably warm, and as he nuzzled into the pleasant heat of his bed, he let out a dreamy sigh.

 

“Good morning!”

 

Lance was not ashamed to admit that he screamed. Loud. Like a child. His eyes flew open, his heart in his mouth, and he found himself face-to-face with the charming smile of his best friend, Hunk.

 

“Don’t do that to me!” Lance cried, thumping Hunk hard on the shoulder. “I almost _died_.”

 

Hunk laughed, clearly unconcerned about the state of Lance’s cardiology, and nudged Lance’s leg with his knee. “Happy Birthday,” he said.

 

“Was that today?” Lance yawned, knowing that Hunk wouldn’t believe that he’d forgotten.

 

“ _Yes_ , it’s today,” Hunk said. “Your first birthday away from home.”

 

“Ah,” Lance mused, “that’s how I forgot. No noisy nieces and nephews to comment on how old I am every five minutes.” He rolled to the side, arching his back until his spine clicked. “Honestly, it’s kinda miss waking up to a six year old measuring me for my coffin.”

 

Hunk snorted. “Did that actually happen to you?”

 

“Twice!” Lance said. “My little cousin really wants to be a mortician when she grows up. She used to look at me and say, ‘You’re getting to that age now, Uncle Lance.’ She used to ask me if I’d give her my room in my will.”

 

“Did you?” Hunk asked.

 

“Yeah, actually,” Lance said. “I bet she’s sleeping in my bed right now. She probably hasn’t even changed the sheets. She’s a weird kid.”

 

“She sounds like fun,” Hunk said.

 

“She is.” Lance found himself closing his eyes, picturing his extensive family. Recently he had been too busy with Voltron to miss them properly, but there were still quiet moments. And it was in those quiet moments – the moments when the only thing Lance had to do was think – that Lance missed them the most. “So, anyway,” he said, propping himself up on his elbow to look down at Hunk. “Where’s my present?”

 

“I have it right here,” said a second voice, close to Lance’s ear. He screamed again, unsurprisingly, as he felt Pidge’s breath ghost across his neck. Clutching his blanket to his bare chest, Lance inched closer to Hunk, his back crashing into his chest.

 

“Why is Pidge in my room?” Lance asked, looking between her and Hunk with bulging blue eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a _girl_ in my _room_!”

 

“Does it bother you that much?” Pidge asked, inching towards Lance with a curling grin. “Why?”

 

“Hunk!” Lance cried. “She’s freaking me out!”

 

“Calm down,” he said, resting a large hand on Lance’s shoulder. “And Pidge, stop freaking Lance out.”

 

It was strange to hear Hunk sound so commanding, his voice warm but firm – he sounded like Shiro used to be. It hadn’t surprised Lance, really, when after Shiro had left, Hunk had picked up the burden of emotionally supporting the team. He was _good at it_ , Lance had found, and while it may have been difficult for Keith to accommodate himself to opening up emotionally to the rest of the team, Lance thought that it was better for their bond as a team that they _had_ to be close to each other, now more than ever.

 

“I’m sorry,” Pidge said. “I made you this.”

 

She handed Lance a small, square device that looked almost like an old phone. The screen was black and the outer edge was white, and dotted with three small buttons.

 

“What is it?” Lance asked.

 

“It’s like an electronic photo frame,” Pidge said. She leaned into Lance’s personal space to show him how to operate the square, pushing the button at the centre to make the tiny screen light up. It showed static for a second, before the picture cleared to show Lance a short video of a cat falling off a chair.

 

“Cat videos?” Lance asked, delighted. He held the screen closer to his face, smiling at the wriggling kittens displayed across the device.

 

“Among other things,” Pidge said, beaming. “I programmed it with about a hundred hours of footage from a few of the planets we’ve visited since we’ve been out here.”

 

The next video that showed on the screen was a small purple cat with dainty orange ears.

 

“Funnily enough,” Pidge said, “the Galra seem to really like cat videos. Who knew, right?”

 

“This is great,” Lance said. He turned to Pidge, wrapping his arms around her and clutching her to his chest. “I love you.”

 

“Ew,” Pidge said, which only made Lance hold her harder. She laughed when Lance messed with her hair and punched him in the arm, saying, “Yeah, yeah. I love you too, Nova.”

 

“Nova?” Lance asked. Slowly, a grin spread out over his face. “As in, _Casa_ nova?”

 

“You’re the one who insists you’re a master flirt,” Pidge said, elbowing him in the ribs. “You charm the socks off all the girls.”

 

“And boys,” Lance said, resting his chin on the top of Pidge’s head. “Don’t forget the boys.”

 

“How could I forget the boys?” Pidge asked, rolling her eyes. “Remember last Pride Month, when you refused to take your rainbow badge off your uniform and every teacher in the Garrison was ready to murder you?”

 

“Of course I remember that,” Lance said, smugly. “I was almost dishonourably discharged. It’s one of my proudest moments. After today, of course. This is definitely better.”

 

“Aw, Lance!”

 

Hunk was watching Lance with moisture in his eyes, and Lance had only a second to brace himself before Hunk’s massive arms were wrapping around them, lifting both Pidge and Lance into his lap.

 

“We love you too, Hunk,” Lance laughed, moving the arm that had been crushed between Pidge’s shoulder and Hunk’s chest to wrap it around Hunk’s neck.

 

“You’ll love us even more in a minute,” Pidge said, squirming in Hunk’s hold until he let her go. She slid out of Lance’s bed with ease, landing on the floor with a little grunt. “Come on.”

 

Lance scrambled out of bed, not bothered that he was still in his pyjamas, and followed Pidge out of his room.

 

In the hallway, Allura was waiting for them. She stood in the centre of the corridor, surrounded by what Lance assumed were the Altean equivalent of birthday balloons and banners. When her eyes fell on Lance, she smiled, stretching her arms wide as if to gesture to every decoration at once.

 

“Happy Birthday, Lance!”

 

“We explained the concept of birthdays to her,” Hunk said, nudging Lance forwards when he made no attempt to move. “She didn’t quite get it, I don’t think, but she insisted that she had to do this for you.”

 

“She did?” Lance asked. To Allura, he said, “You did all of this for me?”

 

“Well, of course I did,” Allura said. She stepped forwards, putting a hand on Lance’s upper arm. “You’re a valuable member of the team, and if this celebration is important to you, then I’m glad I could help.”

 

Lance felt tears prickling his eyes, and before he could help himself, he was wrapping his arms around Allura.

 

“Thank you,” he said, tightening his arms around her upper back. Lance could feel that she was rigid within the circle of his arms, and he was just about to let her go when she surged forwards, pressing closer to him as she threw her arms around his waist.

 

“You’re welcome,” she said, speaking directly into Lance’s chest.

 

They remained in each other’s arms for another few moments, Allura’s warmth reminding Lance of his home. She was stronger than she looked, and her arms crushing Lance’s waist reminded him of his cousin, Isabella.

 

Surprisingly enough, it was Lance that pulled away first, taking a step back from Allura and letting his hands fall back to his sides.

 

“Well,” he said, swinging his arms as he angled his head towards Hunk and Pidge. “Do I get a day off training, too, or is that reserved for something _really_ big, like Christmas?”

 

“You still have to train,” Allura said, turning in the direction of the training hall and gesturing for them to follow her. “But I believe Coran has something special planned.”

 

At the training hall, Lance didn’t see anything that immediately registered as ‘special’. Keith was already there, battering a training robot, and Coran was wandering around the observation room, his arms folded behind his back.

 

When he noticed that Lance and the others had arrived, he stopped his pacing and smiled.

 

“Paladins,” he said, stepping out of the observation room to join them at the centre of the crash mat. Keith ceased his fight with the robot and joined them as well, falling into place between Allura and Pidge. “It has come to my attention that today is the anniversary of Lance’s birth, so to congratulate him for surviving another year, I’m going to let him choose the training exercise for today.”

 

The attention of everyone in the room shifted to Lance, who flushed under their scrutiny. He’d never been the best at deciding on activities – he was always too nervous that his friends wouldn’t approve of his choice.

 

There was, however, something that Lance really wanted to do today. It was a game that he and his family had played in the summer, back home. He remembered running around the garden in his swimming trunks, the sun pleasant and warm on his back, his chest aching from laughing so hard. He remembered his nieces and nephews growing up, growing faster than him, learning how to outsmart him and beat him at his own game.

 

Lance said, “Can we play Stuck in the Mud?”

 

It only took Lance a moment to explain the rules, and then they were off. Keith had a bit of trouble understanding the rules, but he paired up with Allura after a while, and together they’d started to understand the basic concepts by the third or fourth round. Hunk and Pidge had played some variation of the game when they were younger, so the main contest was between them and Lance, who was finding it a lot more difficult to beat them than his cousins.

 

Hours must have passed, and Lance was gasping from breath and smiling with his entire face when Pidge, wheezing, called for a time out.

 

They sat in a circle on the crash mat, sipping their juice quietly as they caught their breath. Lance exchanged occasional glances and grins at Pidge and Hunk, who had really made Lance feel at home today. He had been dreading his birthday for weeks, afraid that he would miss his family too much – that the pain he would feel at them not being there would be crippling. But, thanks to Pidge and Hunk and Allura and Coran, it had been quite the opposite.

 

Lance was fairly sure that this was the best day he’d had since they’d left the earth.

 

“Well,” Coran said, setting his juice pouch down on the ground. “I think that’s enough training for one day. We don’t have anything else planned until later this evening, so you can all go about your business.”

 

“Awesome!” Hunk said. He jumped up from the ground, grabbing Pidge’s hand to drag her with him. “I’m gonna go bake some cookies. If anyone wants any, too bad, because they’re all for Lance.”

 

“I don’t mind sharing my cookies,” Lance said, rolling his eyes, but Hunk was already gone.

 

Allura and Coran were quick to leave after that, too, murmuring their excuses as they walked out the door, which left only Keith and Lance in the training room.

 

Lance glanced in Keith’s direction, planning to engage in some casual conversation, only to find that Keith was already staring at him, his eyes dark with intent.

 

“Oh,” Lance said, blinking at Keith. “You okay there, bud?”

 

“Yeah,” Keith said. He looked away from Lance, seeming to compose himself before he returned to staring, a slightly pink hue to his cheeks. “I heard it’s your birthday.”

 

“It is,” Lance said. “Eighteen today.”

 

“Cool,” Keith said. He looked away again, eyebrows furrowing as if he were having an argument with himself inside his head. “I, uh. I got you something. For your birthday.”

 

“You did?”

 

“Yeah.” Keith rose to his knees and shuffled across the floor, taking a seat at Lance’s side. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package, wrapped in cloth. “It’s not much,” he said, handing it to Lance.

 

Lance unwound the cloth carefully, letting it tumble to the ground when he saw what Keith had given him. It was a dagger, short and sharp, with a blade made from what Lance recognised as a luminescent stone from the last planet they’d visited. The dagger was obviously hand-made, and carried the signature style of the various knives that Lance knew Keith had made himself.

 

 _Keith made me a knife for my birthday,_ Lance thought.

 

Before he could stop himself, Lance lurched forwards, wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck. Keith returned the hug immediately, far more comfortable with the contact than Lance had expected him to be, and Lance relaxed into him, sighing and content.

 

“Thanks, Keith,” Lance said, when they finally moved away from each other. He looked down at the dagger with fond eyes. “I really love this.”

 

“Good,” Keith said. Looking at the dagger in Lance’s hand with a small, quiet smile, he said, “It’ll come in handy when you’re in a close range fight, if you can’t activate your bayard in time.”

 

“ _And_ it looks cool,” Lance said, turning the dagger over in his hand.

 

“Yeah,” Keith said, snorting a laugh. “And it looks cool.”

 

“Come on,” Lance said. He rolled to a stand, tucking the dagger into his belt before offering a hand to Keith. “Hunk’s making cookies, and I don’t wanna miss out on that.”

 

Keith laughed, catching Lance’s hand and allowing him to haul him to his feet. “Hunk’s baking _is_ something else,” he agreed. He followed Lance out of the training room and to the kitchen, where Hunk and Pidge and Allura and Coran all seemed to be waiting for them to arrive.

 

When Lance sat at the centre of them all in the common area, he felt happiness washing over him, and as he looked at the faces of his new family, he felt the pangs of loss for his real family slowly easing away.

 

 

 

That night, when the rest of the team were asleep, Lance crept silently out of his room. He was dressed in his pyjamas, his mud mask still on his face as he made his way quietly to the observation deck.

 

It was the only place in the castle that Lance could _be_ alone without _feeling_ alone. He liked to look out at the stars and picture the planets floating around them, and the people living on them. He liked to think about his own family, and how much he missed them. And he liked to think about his new family, and how much he missed the part of _that_ that was gone now, too.

 

“Shiro,” Lance said.

 

Staring out at the stars, at the blackness that connected them, Lance could almost pretend that he was looking into Shiro’s eyes.

 

“I miss you,” he said, watching points of light shift in the sky as the castle moved through space. “We all do. Everyone’s pulling together, trying to fill the gaps that you left, but,” he paused, “it isn’t the same.

 

“I don’t mind missing you, of course,” Lance said, smiling slightly at the void. “I already miss so many people that one more can hardly hurt, you know? I think about you every day – _all of you_ , not _just_ you. My cousins and my nieces and my nephews and my parents.

 

“It’s my birthday today, I don’t know if you know. I’m eighteen, technically a _man_.” Lance dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t feel like a man, Shiro. I feel like a kid. I miss my family and I miss my friends and I miss _you_ , and I know that we all have people that we miss and I _know_ that I certainly don’t have it worse than Pidge, or Keith, or Allura and Coran, but- it still hurts, you know?”

 

Closing his eyes, Lance could almost pretend that he could hear Shiro’s reply. He could picture his soft eyes, his reassuring looks, his warm and steady hands.

 

Lance said, “It’s not all bad, though. I told Pidge and Hunk how we used to celebrate my birthday at home and they tried to emulate it today. It was pretty sweet, actually. Pidge made me a little video-box and Allura hung decorations and Keith made me _dagger_.”

 

Lance imagined Shiro rolling his eyes at that.

 

“I’m really grateful that they’re here,” Lance said, “even if you can’t be. I’m glad that, of all the people in the world, _they’re_ the ones that I got stranded in space with. I, uh- I’m glad that I got to know you, for a little while, too,” Lance said. “You were kinda my hero, back on earth, and meeting you in real life was just- _wow_ , you know?”

 

Taking his face out of his hands, Lance looked out at the stars, eyes suddenly determined and strong. “We’re going to get you back, Shiro,” he said. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, or how hard it’s going to be, but we’re _going to get you back_. You’re too important to be forgotten.”

 

The stars continued to drift by, sparkling in the black depths of the universe, and Lance allowed himself to smile.

 

“Anyway,” he said, “that was my day. I guess I’ll see you again tomorrow?”

 

The universe stared back at him, silently, but Lance didn’t feel alone. He could feel what was left of Shiro standing with him as he left the observation deck, standing alongside the rest of Lance’s family. He felt Allura and Coran standing there as well, along with everyone else that Lance had met since this whole crazy journey had begun. And Lance knew, feeling them there, that he would never be alone again.

 

At least, that was what he told himself as the elevator door slid shut, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.


End file.
